Martin Brozius
Martin Brozius (Hoorn, the Netherlands; November 4, 1941 - Amsterdam, the Netherlands; March 24, 2009) was a Dutch actor, presenter and comedian.[1]
Biography
Youth & early career
After his parents divorced, Brozius was sent to a Roman-Catholic orphanage for subjection to the nuns' strict regime. A few years later he moved back in with his mother who by then was running a snackbar; he even became her employee when he left school at 14. Two years later, Brozius decided to move on and move out; he sold lottery-tickets at fairgrounds before relocating to Amsterdam where he took acting lessons at the prestigious Kleinkunstacademie. Throughout the 1960s Brozius appeared in comedies and stage-plays with varying degrees of success and even released a few records.
Television, radio and movies
In 1968 Brozius made his television debut in children's series Oebele (alongside singer Rob de Nijs); two years later he guested in De Kleine Waarheid as a news-reporter and taped a sketch-show (Kort en Klein) with Jeroen Krabbé among others.
His twin-breakthrough came in the early 1970s; Brozius played a gator (Aernout Koffij) in the Pied Piper-themed series Hamelen and hosted the Dutch version of Runaround (Ren je Rot). Other credits aimed at his juvenile fanbase were a Monday-afternoon radio-show, the role of a sweet-tooth inventor's son (Felix) in the 1976-taped Peter en de Vliegende Autobus-movie and the lead-voice in the original Tintin cartoon series.
In 1979 Brozius took part in the rainy third episode of Sterrenslag (Battle Of The Stars) and in the early 1980s he appeared in commercials for theme-park Efteling.
Decline & fall
Ren je Rot had a longer lifespan than its equally successful UK-counterpart, but in 1983 parent broadcaster TROS decided that it was time for new programmes. Brozius continued performing at parties, events and made guest-appearances in television series; in 1985 he played a troubled policeman in a Christmas-episode of De Poppenkraam and in 1989 he could be seen in Medisch Centrum West as a gambler with money- and health-problems. This would soon become reality.
Brozius invested his money because he wanted to give his children something for their future; he never saw the money back and adding insult to injury the tax-bills were piling up. Brozius was forced to sell his properties (including his three apartments near Amsterdam Vondelpark) and move to a flat well in need of a revamp; in the process he suffered the first in a row of heart attacks whilst splitting with his second wife (who is believed to be the main offender).
Television appearances became sparse: in 1994 Brozius played an antiquarian in soap-series Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden and in 2001 he appeared in Terrorama! as a whore-hopper.
In 2009 Ren je Rot was back on television as Kies je Ster (compare; Poparound), but by this time Brozius' battle with diabetes had caught up with him; whether he's seen the first episodes or is unknown, only that he'd been in hospital for six weeks when he died on March 24.